Mongolian music videos

Mongolia Monday-On The Road…

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I’m in New York for both the jurying of the Society of Animal Artists’ annual show “Art and the Animal”, which will be tomorrow and then, the following day, the board of director’s meeting and review of applications for membership and “promotion” of current members from Associate to Signature Status.

Afterwards, I’ll be hitting the road with two artists friends and colleagues, Guy Combes and Andrew Denman, heading south to the Delaware shore where we will visit Assateague and Chincoteague Islands and then up to the Philadelphia area for a couple of art museums and other sights.

I’ll try to post a few photos as we go, depending on internet availability.

Mongolia Monday’s regularly scheduled programming will resume on May 16. In the meantime, here’s one of my favorite music videos, which is one answer to a question I sometimes get: “Why Mongolia?”

Mongolia Monday- Mongol Culture in Music Videos

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As I’ve wandered around YouTube looking for music from Mongolia, one thread I’ve noticed is the use of traditional clothes, historical themes, stories and cultural elements across musical genres. I thought I’d share four of my favorites this week.

First up is Batbold, whose video “Bi Mongol Hun” or “I Am A Mongolian” is a visual compendium of traditional Mongol steppe culture. One of the things I like about it is seeing how the bowls, buckets and other household items that you see for sale in the antique shops in UB were and are actually used by the herders.

Sometimes the videos tell stories. The famous Mongolian rock band, Haranga, seems to have dipped back into history, possibly to the time of Chinggis Khan, for this song. I’ll admit that I’m a little hazy on the plot, not being able to understand the words, but the horse is clearly the star. Anyone who can explain this song or provide a translation of the lyrics, please comment!

Other times, all you need is horses, snow and a song about a woman.

Finally, an all-star cast (I recognized Ganaa from the vocal group Camerton), provides an eight minute crash course in Mongol history and culture. Fabulous traditional costume. All singing, all dancing!

Enjoy!